Tougher: Rachel Reeves has said a Labour government would crack down on unemployment by introducing a guaranteed jobs scheme

Labour will be tougher than the Tories on the long-term unemployed in a bid to slash Britain's giant welfare bill, the new shadow work and pensions secretary has said.

Rachel Reeves, who replaced Liam Byrne last week following Ed Miliband's frontbench reshuffle, said under a Labour government those who have been out of work for long periods of time would have to take a guaranteed job offer or face losing their benefits.

The guaranteed job scheme proposed by Labour would offer under-25s work if they have been unemployed for one year.

Over-25s would have to take a job after two years of unemployment.

The scheme would be paid for by reintroducing a tax on bankers' bonuses.

The former Bank of England economist claims the scheme would take 230,000 people off benefits.

In her new role, the 34-year-old also said she has three main priorities - to show people Labour is on the side of the 'ordinary people'; to force work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith to admit his introduction of a new benefit system was a failure and to promote a new Labour vision of 'responsibility, decency and fairness'.

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According to Miss Reeves, the government is spending £9billion more now on social security yet more people are unemployed, on housing benefit and 4.8million are being paid less than the living wage.

She told The Observer: 'If you can work you should be working and under our compulsory jobs guarantee if you refuse that job you forgo your benefits.

Rachel Reeves has said the introduction of Iain Duncan Smith's new benefit system was a failure after she replaced Liam Byrne as shadow work and pensions secretary (right)

'We have got some really good great policies - particularly around the jobs guarantee and cancelling the bedroom tax - that show we are tough and will not allow people to linger on the benefits, but also that we are fair.'

Last
week all three party leaders wielded the axe as they fired key
figures from their frontbench to promote the team that will take them
into the general election.